by The ABS Master gaming PC has a lot going for it: 1440p gaming, display power and a big tap for productivity. And while it performs when it comes to the core components, it wouldn’t have hurt for ABS to give the supporting parts a little more love.
For example, we had a problem clocking the RAM correctly, but otherwise we can let the numbers speak for themselves.
First, let’s see how the ABS Master arrived. If you’re worried about whether it will reach you in one piece, don’t worry; if anything, the packaging is a bit over the top. We conducted our reviews from the UK office and the PC arrived all the way across the Atlantic in a double box with huge bubble wrap filling the outer box, polystyrene liners and a foam pad.
There was also a GPU bracing mount in the case to stop the pre-installed Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 Ti (opens in new tab) (Gigabyte model) from wobbling back and forth. I think the holder had shifted a bit in transit, but all that packaging did a good job of keeping everything from getting damaged.
ABS Master specification
PROCESSOR: Intel Core i5 12400F
GPU: Gigabyte GeForce RTX 3060 Ti
RAM: 16 GB DDR4-3200 OLOy blade
Motherboard: Gigabyte B660 DS3H DDR4
Storage: Intel670P 512GB
Front I/O: 2x USB 2.0, 1x USB 3.0 Type-A, headphones, microphone input
Rear I/O: 1x USB 3.2 2×2 Type-C, 1x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A, 4x USB 2.0/1.1
Connectivity: Bluetooth 4.2, Wi-Fi 5
PSU: 600W 80plus gold
Case: Deepcool Matrexx 50
Operating system: Windows 10 Home 64-bit
Guarantee: 1 year parts and labor
Price: $1,300 (opens in new tab)
Out of the box, the Intel Core i5 12400F (opens in new tab) along with the Gigabyte RTX 3060 Ti, it delivers decent performance for the price, though the RAM speeds were a definite hurdle. With mediocre memory throughput and memory copy scores, I found myself questioning the spec sheet. It said 16 GB DDR4-3200, but the system was only clocked at 2,400 MHz. We assumed the OLOy Blade was RAM where ABS had skimped, but after speaking to the PR we were told that “the user should enable XMP in the BIOS.”
In general, we’ve found that system builders will do that step for you, since the average user isn’t always aware of XMP. I myself have not thought to check for the benchmarking process, and I do this for a living. What you see here, since there are no instructions telling you to do this, are the out-of-the-box benchmarks you’d see of the machine without any extra tinkering.
That said, it didn’t pose too much of a threat to the ABS Master’s gaming ability.
Unfortunately, 512 GB is a bit small for the size of today’s games.
Despite the slower RAM speed, it still managed to score well in our PC Mark 10 synthetic productivity benchmark – better than some more expensive machines we compare it to. That productivity score is largely down to the core components, but the included Intel 670P SSD isn’t a bad choice either. It may be a bit old, but we’ve seen much worse numbers in the FFXIV load time benchmark. Unfortunately, 512GB is a bit small for the size of today’s games, although there’s room to pop in another SSD at a later date, or even replace that boot drive with a larger one.
Productivity aside, the ABS Master achieved more than reasonable Cinebench R23 single core and multicore scores, meaning you can expect pretty good rendering performance for the price. And while video encoding performance was a bit disappointing, the 12th Gen Intel processor still performed on the more CPU intensive gaming benchmarks in our suite.
System performance
Hitman 3 Dartmoor managed an average of 93 fps, even in ultra graphics settings, at 1440p. That is with sim quality at its best. Metro Exodus Enhanced lagged a bit at 54fps at ultra graphics settings, it was a similar story to the rest of the gaming benchmarks.
At 1440p, ultra, and with DX12 enabled (opens in new tab) the ABS Master averaged 61 fps in Warhammer 3’s combat benchmark. FarCry 6 averaged 90 fps, while we saw a solid 46 fps in F1 22. So not a bad game score overall. Compare it to the $99 more expensive iBuyPower and the RTX 3060 in it, and you get an extra 14 fps in Metro, 23 fps in Farcry, and a whopping 28 fps in Hitman Dubai.
Sure, you might have to lower some settings to get the most out of high refresh rate monitors, but overall I’m happy with the core components ABS chose.
Gaming Benchmarks
However, I am not so fond of the Deepcool Matrexx 50 housing. I am convinced that this PC would have scored much better in thermal tests with a better ventilated case. Still, the glass front looks great with the row of spinning RGB fans – there’s even a button to change the lighting on the case, which is nice.
You also get a few peripherals with this one, for free. They’re not the best quality, but they help make life easier for new PC gamers while saving for the best gaming keyboard (opens in new tab) and the best gaming mouse (opens in new tab). The Gamdias mouse is super unobtrusive, with a rubber coating that will rub off pretty quickly, and the keyboard’s switches might be a little scratchy. There are audio controls on the keyboard, which is a plus, but don’t expect a great experience from free peripherals.
Considering this is a machine that packs an RTX 3060 Ti, costs $1,400 and manages great gaming and productivity performance, it puts the more expensive iBuyPower Gaming RDY SLMBG218 to shame that we tested. Sure, the RAM and SSD are better within the latter, but it’s a hundred dollars more for a whole step-down GPU-wise.
For the ABS Master, I would have appreciated a little faster RAM, especially since it’s otherwise a great machine for productivity. A larger SSD wouldn’t have gone amiss either. And yet, despite its minor drawbacks, the ABS master is still a great mid-range gaming PC for the price. However, I’m not sure that peripherals have much to do with my opinion. I honestly try to put them out of my mind.
